Mmj Bill Advances.

greenbuddha · April 14, 2011

Delaware: Medical Marijuana Bill AdvancesPosted by CN Staff on April 14, 2011 at 05:28:42 PT

By Chad Livengood

Dover, DE -- A bill that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes advanced in the General Assembly on Wednesday after a House committee spent two hours vetting how the drug law would be implemented.

Rep. Helene Keeley, a main co-sponsor of Senate Bill 17, said she intends get the legislation brought to the House floor during the first week in May, following the two-week spring break.

The legislation would allow Delawareans with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder and other debilitating diseases to get a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana to treat their pain, nausea or illness. The state would then issue an identification card to the patient, who could purchase marijuana at one of three dispensaries that would be licensed to sell the drug in each of the three counties.

One potential obstacle to final passage of the bill has emerged. Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Fairthorne, has introduced an amendment to levy a $2 tax on every ounce of medical marijuana sold at the dispensaries.

"I think it kills the bill," said Keeley, who vowed to block the amendment from passing on the House floor.

Residents who testified in favor of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes at a hearing Wednesday also voiced opposition to the tax.

"That's just a slap in the face one more time to these people," said John Wiberg, a Rehoboth Beach artist whose grandson, Trevor, has a rare connective-tissue disorder and has advocated legalizing marijuana for pain management uses.

Before the House Health and Human Development Committee took testimony from several people suffering from debilitating diseases, members of the panel focused their questions on the implementation of the program.

Under the bill, qualified patients could designate a caregiver to pick up and deliver their medical marijuana. This is a common practice in other states for homebound and seriously ill people, Keeley said.

Drug felons would be barred from becoming licensed caregivers.

Rep. Donald Blakey, R-Camden, took issue with the bill's prohibiting incarcerated Delawareans with chronic diseases from being able to obtain marijuana for medicinal purposes while in prison.

"Aren't they human? Don't they deserve to have some type of relief? If not, why?" Blakey asked.

Keeley said she agreed, but noted that allowing prisoners access to medical marijuana could add to the difficulty of passing the bill.

"That population should not be discriminated against," Keeley said. "But the reality is we have to have a first step."

The legislation would authorize the Department of Health and Social Services to license, regulate and inspect not-for-profit marijuana dispensaries.

"Whoever gets theses licenses ... I want to see them to be people who have strong roots in the community," said Rep. Nick Manolakos, R-Limestone Hills, a co-sponsor of the bill.

Manolakos said he toured a marijuana dispensary in San Francisco that he said does not fit the stereotype of a corner pot store in California, where voters legalized medical marijuana by referendum in 1996.

"I didn't feel like I was with a drug dealer," Manolakos said of the dispensary operator. "I felt like I was with a health professional."

The Senate passed the medical marijuana bill on March 31. In an amendment, senators removed glaucoma, Crohn's disease, and early stages of hepatitis C from the list of qualifying illnesses.

But a doctor could still recommend medical marijuana to a patient with Crohn's disease based on their debilitating pain, said Noah Mamber, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group based in Washington, D.C. that helped author the bill.

"If I'm so unlucky to be struck down with one of these illnesses, I want to be able to light up some day," said Rep. Edward Osienski, D-Newark.

Source: Delaware Online (DE)

Author: Chad Livengood

Published: April 14, 2011

Website: http://www.delawareonline.com/

URL: http://drugsense.org/url/Hy2oob5b

Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/1c6Xgdq3

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